Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.
Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, July 16.
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Welcome to the Morning Briefing! The Nats will have a second All-Star, none of the “bad guys” from the NL East rivals won the Home Run Derby (eventual winner Teóscar Hernández beat the Phillies’ Alec Bohm in a semifinal, while the Mets’ Pete Alonso - with Nats employee Dave Jauss throwing to him as usual - and Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna failed to get out of the first round, and the Midsummer Classic is tonight!
Leading this Morning's Briefing: Nats Draft Eight More Players
There are (assuming they all sign) eight new members of the organization after yesterday’s second day of the amateur draft. Welcome to the Nats! All of yesterday’s picks were selected from the college ranks, a further departure from the Rizzo-Kline M.O. of years past.
C/3B Kevin Bazzell, Texas Tech (round 3, pick 79)
LHP Jackson Kent, Arizona (4, 108)
SS Randal Diaz, Indiana State (5, 141)
RHP Davian Garcia, Florida Gulf Coast (6, 170)
RHP Robert Cranz, Oklahoma State (7,200)
OF Sam Petersen, Iowa (8, 230)
3B Jackson Ross, Mississippi (9, 260)
RHP Luke Johnson, Maryland-Baltimore County (10, 290)
Last Game out
There wasn’t one! Enjoy the break, folks.
Nationals Headline of the Day: Finnegan Added to NL Roster
Nats closer Kyle Finnegan was a late add to the National League All-Star roster, replacing Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, who elected not to pitch (but will still participate in festivities). This is the first career All-Star nod for Finnegan, and he joins CJ Abrams on the NL squad.
Down on the Farm
The rookie leagues have the only minor league games going on right now, and the Dominican Summer League Nats (where you can find top-30 Nats prospects Victor Hurtado and Ángel Feliz) lost 8-4 to the DSL Cardinals.
Featured Baseball Story of the Day: New Format Still Takes Too Long
Listen, I love the Home Run Derby, but i can sympathize with the people (and players) who felt like the event ran on too long. It almost had a photo finish when Bobby Witt Jr. came within a couple feet of tying Hernández while down to his final out in the bonus round, but alas. I think the thing to do here is make this event two rounds, with the top three advancing from the first round to the final.
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